Filled can with head space



Dec. 26, 1967 E. R. ANDERSON FILLEDCAN WITH HEAD SPACE Original Filed June 11, 1962 VACUUM INVENTOR. EA/PL R ANDERSON BY A T TOPNEVS United States Patent 2 Claims. (Cl. 220--68) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A filled and closed can for products requiring a vacuum having one flexible inwardly dished end wall for testing or inspection of the vacuum condition, and one outwardly dished end wall strong enough to hold against pressure induced by the vacuum.

Description of the invention This application is a division of my co-pending application Ser. No. 201,711 filed June 11, 1962.

The present invention relates to filled containers of food and the like, such as cans, wherein it is desirable to have a certain degree of vacuum within the container after the container is filled, closed, sterilized and cooled, or filled and closed, and to provide a head space within the container above the contents thereof, and is concerned more particularly with means and method for causing a vacuum condition within the container by causing flexing of the end wall thereof to an outwardly bowed or dished condition as opposed to the normally inwardly bowed or dished condition of such walls and to maintain said wall in outwardly bowed condition by including reinforcing means in connection with the end wall to hold it in the desired position.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved can for products such as food stuffs, for example, wherein the container is provided with a vacuum condition within the container and one of the end closures of the container is bowed or dished outwardly.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof made with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional elevational view of a container embodying the invention and one form of apparatus for controlling the position of an end wall of the container;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation similar to FIG. 1 but showing the end wall of the container in an outwardly bowed condition;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one element of the end closure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the other element of the end closure.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the container or can as illustrated is made up of a peripheral side wall 11 which, in this case, is cylindrical, a first end closure 12 and a second end closure 13. The container is seated in a stop fixture such as a vacuum cup 16 having a rubber seal ring 17 therein to engage tightly around the adjacent end closure and having a central orifice 18 which leads through piping 19 to a suitable source of vacuum pressure.

The end closures 12 and 13 are connected in a conventional manner by rolled overlapping seams 21 to the peripheral side wall 11. The second end closure 13 is twopart in construction including a first part 14 which is flexible in the usual fashion of the end wall of a can and under vacuum pressure will move to a bowed condition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, being similar in this respect to the end wall or closure 12. The second part 22 of the closure 13 comprises a permanently bowed metallic disc which is of a size to fit snugly within the upright wall portion 23 of theclosure portion 14 and which at its center has an aperture 24 of a size to fit over a cylindrical upright tube or projection 26 which is attached centrally of the part 14 as by soldering.

The outer part 22, as seen in FIG. 2, is formed with an outwardly bowed or dished shape and is apertured to receive the projecting tubular portion 26 of the inner orfirst part 14 within its aperture 24, and the edges of the tube 26 can be rolled or peened over, as indicated at 26a in FIG. 2. At this time, the closure part 22 and the closure part 14 are in tight flush engagement with each other and.

may be secured to each other as by soldering at the inner or outer edges, for example, or with light spot welds.

The process will be described first as employed with a canned product acquiring a cold fill processing. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vacuum pressure through the piping 19 is used to draw the end closure 14 from its inwardly dished or bowed condition which it occupies when cold to an outwardly dished or bowed condition to thereby produce a head space within the can and to produce a vacuum therein. During the movement of the closure part 14 outwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2, the tubular projection 26 will engage the frusto-conical surface 27 of the stop fixture 16 and will be rolled over by this frusto-conical surface 27 to the condition shown in FIG. 2 to provide the flange 26a overlapping with respect to the closure part 22. After removal of the can from the fixture, soldering can be performed at the inner and outer edges of the closure parts 14 and 22, if desired.

When the product is such that in canning it is necessary to subject it to usual filling, exhausting, closing, cooking and then cooling process, the reinforcing of the end wall 13 of the container can be effected immediately after the cooking process when both end closures 12 and 13 will be dished or bowed outwardly due to the pressure condition in the can. This condition of the end closure 12 is indicated in dotted lines at 12a in FIG. 2. While the can 11 is still hot and the closure part 14 is dished outwardly, as seen in FIG. 2, either a frusto-conical forming part 27 can be used to roll the edge 26a over, or it can be formed in other ways. Also, a soldering operation may be performed while the can is in this condition.

Subsequently, upon cooling, the end closure or wall 12 will be dished inwardly, as seen in FIG. 2, so that the conventional test for the spoiled and unspoiled conditions within the can may be made by flipping vacuum of the end wall 12.

In the canning of certain products such as golf balls, tennis balls, cigarettes and the like, where the product is canned cold and there is no requirement for heating in the canning process, the cold product is placed in the can and the can is sealed with or without vacuum. According to my method, the can is heated to expand one end to an outwardly bowed condition. In certain instances, for example, when a vacuum pack is employed, the opposite end may be held or retained in a straight or inwardly bowed condition during this heating step. The permanently bowed closure 22 is applied and is fastened at the inner and outer edges by soldering, as previously described. It will be noted that where the can was sealed without a vacuum condition in it, the expanding of one end to a bowed condition and holding this end in the bowed condition produces a vacuum in the can. Where a vacuum condition already exists, the amount of vacuum is increased.

While I have shown and described certain preferred forms and methods of this invention, it will be apparent that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the forms shown so that its scope should be limited only by'the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. A can filled with a product comprising a peripheral side wall, a first end closure and a second end closure, both of said closures being connected to said side wall, said first closure being flexible and being dished in response to vacuum pressure in said can, said second closure comprising two parts, one part forming a closure for the can and being capable of flexing in response to pressure conditions within said can to either an inwardly dished condition or an outwardly dished condition, and second second part providing means for resisting inward dishing of said first part.

2. A can filled with a product comprising; a peripheral side wall, as recited in claim 1, in which said second part has a permanent outwardly dished shape and provides means for resisting inward dishing of said first part, and means securing'said second part to said first part to hold said first part in outwardly dished condition.

References (Iited UNITED STATES PATENTS 218,113 8/1879 Chappell 22063 994,468 6/1911 Kane 22066 2,012,213 8/1935 Young 220-66 2,209,403 7/ 1940 Kittner et al. 220--63 2,894,844 7/1959 Shakman 22066 2,971,671 2/1961 Shakman Q 220-66 3,294,271 12/1966 Armbruster 220-71 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

JAMES R. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. A CAM FILLED WITH A PRODUCT COMPRISING A PERIPHERAL SIDE WALL, A FALL END CLOSURE AND A SECOND END CLOSURE, BOTH OF SAID CLOSURES BEING CONNECTED TO SAID SIDE WALL, SAID FIRST CLOSURE BEING FLEXIBLE AND BEING DISHED IN RESPONSE TO VACUUM PRESSURE IN SAID CAN, SAID SECOND CLOSURE COMPRISING TWO PARTS, ONE PART FORMING A CLOSURE FOR THE CAN AND BEING CAPABLE OF FLEXIBG IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE CONDITIONS WITHIN SAID CAN TO EITHER AN INWARDLY DISHED CONDITION OR AN OURWARDLY DISHED CONDITION, AND SECOND PART PROVIDING MEANS FOR RESTING INWARD DISHING OF SAID FIRST PART. 